


teeth like swords, claws like spears

by aquamarine_nebula



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Dragon Hamid, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27804040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquamarine_nebula/pseuds/aquamarine_nebula
Summary: zolf tries not to see the rampage of the bronze dragon destroying the city, or, hamid starts to lose his halflingity
Relationships: Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Zolf Smith
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	teeth like swords, claws like spears

Returning to London hadn't caused many issues, in the end. Finding the source of the infection, the cure that had been ready to be rolled out as soon as the most political points could be scored, distributing it to those who needed it (even if some were too late to make a difference) had made Zolf expect the worst of everything. If nothing else, London would have been taken over by gangs again, or a vengeful god, or… bloody hell, a  _ coup _ or something, but there was nothing. They settled into a new life which wasn't wondering which member of their crew would be taken from them, which was meeting up and being  _ friends _ for once. 

Until now. 

The dragon which had previously been Hamid was stalking around them, snarling at any movement, tail swishing in agitation. The street had cleared as soon as the transformation had begun, thank Poseid… hope for small mercies, but it didn't mean much for them, who had been herded into a compact group. 

“Right,” Zolf sighed. 

“No retirement, then?” Oscar quipped, though it didn't hold his usual mirth. Hamid was unnervingly powerful-- _ explosively _ powerful at the best of times, and right now he was little more than a beast. 

“Was it like this last time?” Azu said softly. 

“Not really,” Zolf grunted. He didn't have any weapons on him, the only weapon close at hand was Azu’s axe. Zolf doubted she'd let him use it. He stepped forward slowly, inching his prosthetic leg forward and wincing at the noise it made. Hamid’s head swivelled, glowered at him with yellow eyes, growled so long and deep that it ended up lodged in Zolf’s chest. 

Hypnotising. Was this how dragons caught their prey? 

He slowly lifted his hands, palms forward. “Azu, be ready to cover for me if he attacks.”

“I'm not going to  _ kill him _ , Zolf!”

“I’m not asking you to  _ kill him _ . Knock him out if you have to, rather than him killing  _ all of us _ .”

Oscar took a sharp breath in, between his teeth. “Be  _ careful _ , Zolf.”

Another inching step forward, and Hamid stepped backwards swiftly, tail swishing again in warning and anger. “I'm not going to hurt you, Hamid.”

He reared up his head, skittering further back, the fins along his cheeks flaring. “He's scared, that's all,” he muttered, before waving a hand frantically behind his back. He didn't take his eyes away from Hamid to check, but from the loud clanking that had Hamid’s serpentine neck twist to watch a progression down the street, he could guess that Azu at least had walked away. “Hamid?” he asked softly when the clanking stopped. 

Hamid watched him distrustfully, golden eyes sweeping over his body carefully as if checking for weapons. Zolf stayed still for a few minutes, as Hamid watched and sniffed and darted his tongue out to taste the air. He only lowered his head when he seemed perfectly satisfied with his inspection. 

Zolf lowered himself, the movement first prompting Hamid to widen his eyes and pick up his growling again, baring wickedly sharp teeth, before he awkwardly settled on the ground. The leg always made it more difficult to get down and up from the ground, though his sigh at the familiar annoyance seemed to calm Hamid further. 

He sighed again, probably something about showing relaxation? Maybe Hamid reacted to body language more than anything else in this state?--and Hamid placed his head on the ground. Zolf was still at a distance where any fire would either kill him instantly or bring him near to death, and didn't let his eyes stray from Zolf. The tail settled at the next sigh, curling over his nose so all that was visible of his face were the glowing pair of golden eyes. 

“You don't want to hurt us, do you?” he said gently. A soft grumble came from Hamid’s throat, but it didn't have the same earth-shattering rumble of his growl. There was still no trust in his posture, but no threat either. “Hamid?” he tried. 

His breathing picked up, but still nothing threatening. 

Zolf had no idea how long it took, in the end. But finally Hamid was grumbling along to everything he said, his eyes slowly starting to shut, until they were tightly closed. Zolf was almost tempted to try touching him, see if the dragon leant into contact as much as the halfling did. But that was a surefire way to lose his hand. 

There was a shimmer, and Zolf had to close his eyes and look away. When he returned, Hamid was curled up on his side, shivering. 

He was more dragon-like than the last time Zolf had seen… well, seen this much of him, sure, with scales decorating his shoulders and lower back. The claws hadn't retracted, which was something Zolf would have to be ready to duck away from. He shrugged off his coat--no way he could salvage anything from the scraps Hamid had left in the wake of his transformation and apparently he hadn't thought to bring his magic sleeves to what was supposed to be a walk in Hyde Park with some friends--and placed it over Hamid’s shoulders, gently pulling him up. 

“Come on, wake up, Hamid.” He paired the words with a squeeze. 

Hamid opened his eyes but didn't respond. 

“Can you walk?”

Hamid swallowed, breath audibly catching in his throat. The wracking sounded almost painful, as if it was stabbing him every time he breathed. But he nodded, and Zolf didn't comment when he put almost his entire weight onto him. There was almost nothing to him, anyway. 

“We can bring him to my flat,” Oscar said, apparently not having backed away as far as Azu. 

Something like gold and fire flashed in Hamid’s eyes when he looked at Oscar, but he glanced up at Zolf quizzically before looking down again. “Let's do that,” Zolf decided. Hamid didn't argue. He dragged his feet, tripping and trembling against Zolf’s side, bit his lip, his adam’s apple bobbing as if he was trying to hold back his words. Zolf rubbed his shoulder and pulled him closer to his side as strangers started staring.

The spare bed in Oscar’s flat was always made up, for the times that physical contact made Zolf jumpy and his stomach twist uncomfortably, and he helped Hamid slip in, leaving the coat around his shoulders. Oscar had closed the door behind them, and Hamid had watched it for a few seconds before looking at Zolf again, tiny in the human-sized bed.

“I’m sorry,” he said, almost soundlessly.

Zolf shrugged, and sat beside Hamid when he shuffled to the middle of the bed. “Not your fault. And you didn’t hurt anyone.”

“I  _ could _ , though. I could hurt...anyone, I could hurt you, Azu, I could…” His breaths were raking his throat now, harsh and painful in and out, his shoulders shaking, his hands starting to edge towards his neck. The claws were still wickedly sharp, and they dug into his hands when Zolf took them. He placed them both on his chest as Hamid still continued his out of breath babbling.

“Breathe with me, Hamid.” 

Hamid buried his face in his knees but still obeyed, following the exaggerated movement of Zolf’s chest.

“Do--do you think I’m losing myself?” he asked, almost inaudibly. He looked at Zolf through his fringe, mascara and eyeliner staining his cheekbones dark grey. He hadn’t even prestidigitated, for once letting himself be messy, show his fear, his mortality.

“We won’t let you,” Zolf vowed.

Hamid nodded, determination overtaking fear for the shortest time in the set of his jaw. “Yes...yes, if it happens again, if there is a  _ chance _ that I’ll hurt someone, you have to kill me, Zolf. You, or Azu, or… Oscar, you  _ have _ to do it.”

He furrowed his brow, patted Hamid’s head. “I didn’t mean  _ that _ , Hamid. We won’t let you lose yourself. You’re going to find a way to deal with this.”

Hamid’s face crumpled. “It’s just going to get  _ worse _ , Zolf.”

He watched him, pulled the blankets around him when he collapsed back against the over plumped pillows. Tears were still hanging on his eyelashes, strands of black hair stuck to his forehead and cheeks with sweat. Zolf pulled the blankets up around his shoulders before leaving, closing the door behind him and trying to ignore the breathy sobs from the bed.

Oscar was waiting for him, already handing him a whiskey by the time he’d left the room, Azu already quietly with her own. “I’ll go to his flat to get some clothes for him,” he said. “Stay here, Zolf, Azu.”

Zolf nursed the drink staring out over what should be a peaceful city, trying not to see the rampage of a bronze dragon destroying it.


End file.
